Visitor counters have been installed at five selected locations in the Karlovy Vary spa forests. The devices will help provide a better understanding of how people move through the forest, how many visitors come, which routes they take, and how visitor numbers change in relation to factors such as time of day, season, and weather. The project is being carried out in collaboration with the Department of Forestry and Wood Economics at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague and builds on an international project focused on sustainable tourism.
The counters are located at five sites selected by the Spa Forests and Parks at the end of 2025. Specifically, these are the Diana Lookout, the Goethe Lookout, the Camera Obscura gazebo, the Svatý Linhart Game Reserve, and Jelení skok. In terms of visitor numbers, these sites are among the most heavily frequented.
The devices can distinguish between pedestrians and cyclists, including their direction of travel. Pedestrians are detected by a thermal sensor, while cyclists are detected by induction loops embedded in the ground. The counters do not record video or audio, take photos, or collect personal data. They are used solely to collect visitor data. Another advantage is their durability in the field. The devices, along with a GPS locator, are mounted on a pole to avoid disrupting the surrounding environment.
“The data collected will provide us with insights into how people use the spa forests. Thanks to this data, we will be able to plan our operations more effectively and better assess the usage of specific areas in connection with the development of additional infrastructure,” says Stanislav Dvořák, director of Karlovy Vary Spa Forests and Parks.
The installation of the counters is part of the Green Balance: Sustainable Tourism in Suburban Forests (CZE-CH-TURBIO) project. The project applicant is the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, with partners including Karlovy Vary Spa Forests and Parks and the Berner Fachhochschule (Bern University of Applied Sciences) in Switzerland. The project is part of the Swiss-Czech Cooperation Program
The main objective of the project is to promote forms of tourism that respect the limits of the forest ecosystem within the spa forests and the surrounding area of Karlovy Vary. In addition to monitoring visitor numbers, the project aims to evaluate trends, identify visitor motivations, propose measures to address excessive visitor numbers, and conduct educational activities focused on responsible behavior in nature. The current installation of counters took place as part of the pre-project preparation. The project itself will run from spring 2026 to fall 2028.
“Automatic counters will allow us to collect long-term and comparable data on visitor numbers, which serve as an important basis for the responsible management of recreational forest areas. In collaboration with Lázeňské lesy a parky, we aim to better understand how to balance recreational use of the area with the protection of its natural values,” state Petra Palátová and Roman Dudík from the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology (FLD) at the Czech University of Life Sciences (ČZU).
In the coming years, the newly acquired data should help not only with better planning of management for heavily used sites but also with establishing appropriate visitor management policies in areas where recreational forest use intersects with the need for sustainably managed forest ecosystems.
The CZE-CH-TURBIO project is funded by the Swiss Confederation as part of the Second Swiss Contribution through the “Sustainable Tourism and Biodiversity Enhancement” Program (Call No. 2 – Small Grant Scheme).
